Love Game
by ParisWriter
Summary: For her, it was just a crush. For him, it was nothing more than a game. Neither of them was really looking for love, but love has a way of changing the rules when you least expect it. (Aidou/OC)
1. A Chance Encounter

Author's Note: Here, we have my first attempt at a Vampire Knight fanfiction. I originally came up with the idea for this story last summer, when one of my friends from deviantART - known on here as RisemboolRanger - was working on her own story and needed an OC to use for her character's roommate in the story. She chose another OC for the roommate but my gal Kara is still making an appearance in the story.

Recently, we decided that it would be a pretty cool idea - and a good way to keep us both motivated - if we were to interlink out stories with one another, showing various events in each of them from both of our main characters' points of view. So, with that in mind, I _highly_ suggest going over to her profile and checking out her Vampire Knight story, Angel of My Nightmare.

* * *

**Chapter One: A Chance Encounter**

"I can't believe you brought Oinks with you."

"Why wouldn't I bring him?"

"Because we're in_ high school_ now, Kara. Don't you think keeping a stuffed animal like that is a bit childish?"

Kara Tsukiyama picked up the toy in question – a pink pig complete with curly tail – and sat down on her bed. She held the pig in her lap, playing with its slightly floppy years, and pouted at her roommate as she brushed some of her brown hair which had come loose from her ponytail out of her green eyes, tucking it behind her ear.

"Shinji gave him to me," she pointed out, hugging the soft toy pig to her chest. "Before, well... You know."

"Before you two couldn't have a conversation without it turning into an all-out shouting match, you mean?"

Kara sighed. Her roommate, Shiori Itou – who also happened to be her best friend – was one of the few people she'd been totally honest with about her problems at home over the years. She knew how bad things had gotten between Kara and her younger brother over the past year, and she'd always been there when she needed someone to vent to about it or a shoulder to cry on when she was wishing for things to go back to the way they were between the two of them. Oinks had been a birthday present Shinji gave her when she was seven years old, and now that they were constantly fighting with one another it was the one reminder she had of how close they'd once been.

"Hey," Shiori told her, going over to where she was sitting and squeezing the pig's nose, causing it to squeak. "I'm sorry. I think it's nice you still keep him close, even though your brother hates you."

"He doesn't _hate_ me, Shiori," Kara corrected her.

"You could have fooled me."

Kara let out another sigh and set Oinks back on the pillow of her bed as she looked at the clock sitting upon her nightstand.

"Come on," she told Shiori, standing up and grabbing her school bag. "We're going to be late for our first day if we don't get a move on."

Shiori groaned in protest, but went to gather her own bag from her bed. They quickly double-checked to make sure they had everything they would need for their first morning of classes at Cross Academy, and Kara redid her ponytail to secure the pieces which had become loose while Shiori attempted to finger-comb her wild red curls into place. Once they were sure they were ready, they wished one another good luck and went their separate ways to class.

* * *

Kara was exhausted and utterly dismayed by the end of her first day of classes. She'd expected Cross Academy to have higher academic standards than the middle school she had gone to, but she hadn't quite been prepared for the extent of the curriculum. She already had three papers she needed to write by the end of the week, and a test in two days she needed to prepare for. Thankfully, she had Shiori. Her best friend was also her secret weapon when it came to her studies. Shiori had a brain for maths and sciences, and was able to clearly explain concepts which were so far above her head that Kara would never understand them. On the other hand, Shiori was horrible at English and anything having to do with writing or the arts – which just so happened to be where Kara excelled. They often relied on each other's help in order to make sure they kept their grades at an acceptable level while in middle school. Kara simply hoped they could manage to keep that up now that they were going to a prestigious private school like Cross Academy.

"I'm beginning to have second thoughts about this place."

Kara laughed as Shiori fell into step next to her, voicing the same thoughts she had been having.

"What are they trying to do, work us to death right up front?" the taller girl complained, pushing her hair back with both hands, her fingers curling into the mass tensely.

"Maybe they're trying to weed out those who don't have what it takes to make it in this school," Kara suggested with a small shrug. "Perhaps they're looking to send some people home and those who can't cut it will get kicked out and be forced to go to another school."

"I hope not!" Shoiori remarked, her dark brown eyes going wide. "My mom spent_ so much money _so I could go to school here. We can't afford it if I need to go to another school. I'd have to drop out!"

"I'm not going to let you fail, Shiori, I promise," Kara assured her with a smile. "As long as you promise to not let me end up getting kicked out, too."

"Deal," Shiori agreed, and they shook hands in mock seriousness before bursting out in giggles and continuing toward their dorm, arm-in-arm.

"What's going on over there?"

Kara stopped walking and turned to look where Shiori was looking. A large group of students – mostly female, but there were a few males among them – had gathered outside a set of fancy wooden gates.

"Should we check it out?" she suggested, and Shiori pulled her along without a word toward the throng of students.

"You know, I bet that's where the Night Class students live on campus," Shiori mused, pursing her lips in thought. "You've heard about them, right?"

"How could I_ not_?" Kara remarked, rolling her eyes. "It seems to be close to the only thing the girls here talk about."

"They're supposedly _really_ hot." Shiori grinned and gave Kara a wink, and Kara rolled her eyes again. Of the two of them, Shiori was the one who had always been more boy-crazy. Tall and pretty, the boys had always gravitated to her over Kara – the short girl with boring brown hair.

From what Kara had heard about the Night Class students, they were all as model-esque as her best friend, the most attractive students in the school who came from some sort of royal bloodline and got special treatment as a result. The 'special treatment' included private classes separate from the rest of the students at Cross Academy. Why those classes took place at _night_, Kara had no idea – and she thought it was a bit odd – but she supposed models were too busy during the day doing photoshoots, or going to parties, or whatever models did, and couldn't be bothered to attend lessons during the day with the rest of them.

"Everyone stand back!"

Kara started at the sound of the voice shouting over the crowd gathered outside the gates, which was amplified by a megaphone. She craned her neck to see who had finally decided to take charge and attempt to bring order to the throng of students and spied the headmaster's daughter standing above the others. She figured the girl must be on a box or something, since she was actually even shorter than she was, but even with the loud voice and the placement above the others, Kara doubted that she would be able to get the students to disperse. To her surprise, however, the crowd almost immediately split in two and formed lines on either side of the path leading away from the gates where they had just been milling around.

"Come on, I want to get a look!" Shiori urged, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her quickly over to the end of one of the lines. Kara soon found herself squashed between her best friend and one of the older girls from the school, who was gabbing to the girl next to her about how beautiful and wonderful the Night Class students were and how she couldn't wait to see them all again. She was about to excuse herself and head back to the dorm on her own when the gates finally opened and the entire crowd erupted in cheers and squeals of delight, causing her to cover her ears.

"Hello, everyone!" a chipper male voice called over the ruckus. "Have you missed me?"

"Yes!" came the collective reply of the crowd, screamed particularly loudly right in Kara's ear by the girl standing next to her.

"Wow... They really _are_ hot!" Shiori remarked, but Kara couldn't see over the girls in front of her due to her small stature. Stuck in the middle of the crowd of students, she decided to wait until things died down before making her escape back to the dorm and watched as the Night Class students finally came into view.

The first one she saw was a tall blonde whose green eyes were firmly focused on the book in his hand, completely oblivious to the girls shrieking and calling his name as he walked by. Next came two girls – one with long, pale brown hair and another with blonde pigtails – and an auburn-haired boy, all three of whom looked like they had better places to be and couldn't care less about the attention that was being paid to them. It was the next pair of students who caught Kara's eye, though.

"Akatsuki, wait! I must greet each of my admirers, personally! They've been waiting for so long to see me again!"

It was the same voice she had heard before, and now she knew who it had come from: a boy with blonde hair which was perfectly styled in a way that looked like it had been simply combed through once after being slept on. He was being dragged along by the collar of his jacket by a much taller boy with reddish-blonde hair and amber eyes who was scowling at his behavior.

"We don't want to be late for class, Hanabusa," he scolded, and the smaller boy crossed his arms over his chest and huffed like a petulant child. Kara couldn't help but laugh at the scene, and the head full of messy blonde hair snapped to attention – almost as though he had somehow been able to hear her over the din.

He turned his face in her direction and Kara found herself staring at the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen in her life. His eyes searched the crowd where she was standing, and she held her breath as they settled upon her general location. After a few seconds, he smiled and gave a cheeky little wink, effectively causing the crowd to begin squealing even louder so that she had to cover her ears once again. She instinctively closed her eyes as she tried to block out the cacophony, and by the time she looked up again to where he had been he was gone and the students were beginning to disperse.

"Well, that was something," Shiori remarked, smiling after the Night Class students.

"You can say that again," Kara replied, her voice a bit breathless. Her heart was still hammering in her chest as a result of that one moment when the blue-eyed boy – Hanabusa, his friend had called him – had winked at her. She knew that he probably hadn't meant it to be directed at her, personally, but it had still felt like he had chosen to focus in upon her at that moment.

Little did she know that single moment would change the course of her life forever...


	2. Truth or Dare?

**Chapter Two: Truth or Dare?**

_Fourteen Months Later..._

An eruption of giggles could be heard coming from one of the rooms in the Sun Dorm, breaking the silence of the dark night. Someone make a shushing noise, and the laughter died down a bit but didn't completely subside until a few minutes had passed. Inside the room, six girls were seated in various positions on the beds and floor, their only source of light a few candles sitting on top of the desk of one of the room's occupants. What had started out as a late-night study session had quickly devolved into a night full of gossip and girl talk, and now they were deep in the midst of a game of Truth or Dare.

"Kara, it's your turn," a girl with short black hair and thick glasses called from her spot on the floor next to the foot of the girl's bed. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Kara immediately answered.

"No!" Shiori objected, shaking a finger at her. "You _cannot_ choose truth again. I forbid it!"

"Why not?" Kara whined.

"You've been picking it all night, Kara," pointed out another girl, a slightly overweight blonde.

"Yeah, have some guts!" the girl with glasses urged her. "Come on! Dare! Dare! Dare!"

The rest of the girls began to chant the word over and over, egging her on, and Kara hid behind Oinks in an attempt to ignore them so that they would stop. When their chanting only grew louder, she shushed them loudly again. They weren't supposed to still be up his late, and if Yuuki caught them they'd all be in trouble.

"Fine!" she finally agreed, tossing her stuffed pig aside. "Dare!"

"That's the spirit!" Shiori praised her, hopping off her own bed and over onto Kara's to give her an encouraging hug.

"What do I have to do?" Kara asked impatiently, just wanting to get the awkwardness over with. "Make out with Rin?"

"What?!" squeaked a tiny girl with dark braids, and she covered her mouth with one hand. "No! These lips belong to no one but Shiki!"

Kara chuckled at the girl's reaction. She was constantly talking about how she was saving herself for her crush, even going so far as to say she wouldn't get married unless it was to the auburn-haired Night Class student.

"No... I know the perfect thing," Shiori purred, a wicked smile playing upon her lips as she placed an arm around Kara's shoulders. "I want you to break into the Moon Dorm."

"You _can't_ be serious?" Kara wondered even as the others were already clapping and voicing their approval of the dare, her green eyes growing wide.

"Oh, but I_ am _serious," Shiori told her with a laugh. "Weren't you just saying the other day that you wished you were more of a risk-taker? Well, now's your chance!"

"But... Breaking into the _Night Class' dormitory_? That's, like... One of the_ worst_ rules I could possibly break."

"Rules are_ meant_ to be broken," replied the final girl in the room: a tall brunette with a boyish figure who wasn't shy about the fact that_ her_ crush within the elusive Night Class was one of its female members – though she wouldn't reveal which one.

"Do you want me to go right now?" Kara asked, standing from her bed. "Fine."

"No," Shiori said, grasping her hand and pulling her back down with a shake of her head, her smile growing even bigger. "Now would be_ far_ too easy. All of them are at class. No... I want you to wait until first thing in the morning to go there. And to prove you did it, you have to bring something back with you from one of their rooms."

"Do you seriously _want_ me to get caught?" Kara asked, gaping at her. "I thought you wanted me to_ avoid_ getting kicked out of this school."

"Please," the brunette scoffed, pushing off from the wall she was leaning against and going over to sit on the end of Shiori's bed. "You're a model student, Kara. You've never even been given a _warning_ before. You'd only get a slap on the wrist, since it would be your first violation of the rules."

"Plus, you're smart and good with words," Rin added. "You could easily think up some sort of plausible-sounding excuse for being there."

"Rin and Meg are right," Shiori said, taking one of Kara's hands and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "If you get caught, you won't get thrown out of school, and you could probably talk your way out of getting into any trouble at all if you try. So you're going, and that's that."

"Fine," Kara spat, resigning herself to her fate. "Whose room do I need to get something from? Kain?"

"Nope."

Kara raised a curious eyebrow at Shiori's response. She was sure her best friend would use this opportunity to get her hands on something belonging to the tall, stoic member of the Night Class who she so adored.

"Aidou," Shiori stated with a wicked gleam in her dark eyes.

"No," Kara protested, shaking her head. "_No way_!"

"Oh, yes," agreed the chubby blonde, bouncing excitedly and clapping her hands. "Good idea, Shiori!"

"Thank you, Danielle," Shiori replied, bowing slightly toward her.

"No!" Kara repeated, her voice rising in pitch and sounding like a terrified little girl.

"Why not?"

"You _know_ why not, Shiori! Every time I see him, I freeze up!"

"So don't get caught," Meg remarked with a smirk. Kara simply kept shaking her head. Shiori sighed and stood up, placing her hands on her hips in an authoritative stance.

"Who here agrees that Kara should break into Aidou's room and steal one of his possessions? Hands?"

All of the girls raised their hands in the air, save for Kara and the girl with the glasses.

"_Thank you_, Juni," Kara said, gesturing toward her. "See? Juni agrees with me that this is a bad idea."

"Actually, the only reason I didn't raise my hand is because I would rather you steal something from Kuran-senpai's room."

"Aww, Juni," Shiori cooed, lowering her hand and going over to kneel in front of the other girl. "I know you like him and you think you're too shy for him to ever notice you, but this dare is specially tailored for Kara. We all know she's got a thing for Aidou, and this is the only way she's ever going to get over her fear of facing him."

"You're making me sound like some sort of socially inept recluse or something," Kara protested, crossing her arms over her chest.

"That's why you _need_ to do this dare," Shiori told her, then held up a hand to silence her when she opened her mouth to protest again. "No more arguments, Kara. You are _doing_ this, like it or not."

* * *

Kara swore under her breath as she walked toward the Moon Dorm, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. It was far too early to be up and about, especially considering the fact that she hadn't gotten to bed until sometime after two in the morning. She still couldn't believe she'd let Shiori more or less bully her into doing what she was about to do.

"Friends push each other when necessary," Shiori had told her before she made her way out of their room. "You wanted to be braver and take more risks, and I'm going to make sure you do that."

"Thanks a lot, Shiori," she muttered as she started at the building before her, the dormitory where the Night Class students made their home at Cross Acedemy.

With a sigh, she tossed her bag into the grass and approached the nearest window. Closing her eyes, she took a few deep breaths to steady herself before reaching up and attempting to hoist herself into a better position for looking in. She knew she didn't stand a chance of successfully walking in through the front door, so she would have to get into the building however she could and the window seemed as good an entry point as any.

"Err, are you alright?"

Kara froze at the sound of the voice and glanced briefly over her shoulder to look at the person addressing her, finding a girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes watching her with a curious look on her face. She was another Day Class student, judging by the uniform she was wearing, but she didn't seem at all familiar.

"I'm fine," Kara assured her, turning back to the window. "I just can't see inside very well – they put these windows in so high!"

The girl didn't need to know that she was actually trying to do more than simply look inside. It would be better for both of them, in fact, if this girl remained totally oblivious to what she'd been planning on doing.

"Is the building locked then?" the girl asked, and Kara didn't miss the note of disappointment in her voice.

"No, everywhere's still open of course," she informed her, part of her wishing the girl would just go away so she could get her stupid dare over with. She wasn't the sort of person to tell somebody off, though, so she merely continued to gaze at the window, pretending to look inside as she felt around the bottom frame to judge whether or not it was painted shut.

"Um... Why don't you just go round the front then? I'm guessing you wanna get inside?"

Kara's head snapped around at the girl's accurate interpretation of the situation. Her heart began racing in her chest, fear gripping at her. If this girl went to the headmaster and told him what she'd been doing, she was sure she'd get in trouble – despite all of her friends' assurances that she'd get away with merely a light punishment.

"Because we're not allowed inside," she answered the girl's question, thinking maybe perhaps she was new and didn't yet know the way things worked around the school. Her being new _would_ account for why Kara couldn't place her face. "Why else?"

The girl's facial expression just grew even _more_ confused. "Nobody told_ me_ we weren't allowed..."

"You _must_ be new here," Kara voiced her thoughts, lowering herself to the ground and letting go of the window ledge.

"Yeah, I just started this week," the girl admitted.

Kara vaguely recalled overhearing one of the teachers of the Night Class students gushing about his daughter, who was supposed to be transferring into the Day Class sometime that week. Since transfers didn't regularly happen at Cross Academy, that could only mean this girl was the daughter he had been speaking of.

"So _you're_ Mr. Harima's daughter, then," she said once the realization had finally set in.

"Err, yeah," the girl replied, looking very uncomfortable. Kara felt a bit sorry for her. It couldn't be easy having a father like that, who would brag openly about you to the point where complete strangers know about you before you even meet them.

"My name's Tamashi," the girl introduced herself, "but everyone just calls me Harry."

This was _beyond_ perfect. Her father was a not only a member of the faculty, but he taught the Night Class. That meant she could probably get into the Moon Dorm without much trouble. Kara hated to use her like that, but she new that if she didn't complete her objective Shiori and the others would give her hell about it. Normally, she would just deal with that, but she had a major test coming up in one of her classes and she really didn't need their constant nagging distracting her.

"Well no wonder nobody said _you_ weren't allowed in here!" she exclaimed, unable to hide her excitement at her sudden good fortune. "You must get special treatment since your dad's a teacher."

She grabbed her bag where she had tossed it onto the grass and went over to Harry, holding her hand out in greeting. "I'm Kara, by the way – Kara Tsukiyama."

"Oh, nice to meet you," Harry said, hesitating a beat before shaking her hand. She then pointed toward the front gate leading toward the Moon Dorm and nodded her head in that general direction.

"So... Did you want to come in with me, then?" she offered, and Kara seamed at her and nodded.

"Yeah, if you don't mind! Let's go!"

She linked her arm through Harry's and practically dragged the poor girl over to the entrance of the dorm, grinning like a fool. Here she thought this was going to be a difficult thing to accomplish, but it seemed fate was smiling down upon her. She slowed in her steps when they approached the grim-looking guard seated just inside the gate, but didn't stop – and she was pleasantly surprised when he didn't even try to stop them.

_Almost there_, she thought to herself as they approached the front doors of the elegant building before them. _Then all I have to do is get up to Aidou's room, grab the first thing I can find, and get the hell out. Harry will just have to fend for herself after that._

She had to bite her tongue to keep from wincing at that thought. The girl was new and seemed a bit clueless, and she was going to leave her_ alone_ in the Night Class dorm? Granted, the student who lived there hadn't ever shown her a reason to think they were dangerous... but if her theory about them was correct, then anything was possible.

"Well, that was easier than I though it would be," Kara remarked when she tried the door and found it unlocked. The two of them wandered into the main foyer of the building and she couldn't help but stare in awe. It was probably the most beautiful place she had ever seen, certainly _much_ fancier than the dorms where the Day Class students lived.

"You know... I've never actually been in here before," she said after a moment, wondering exactly where she would find the room she was looking for.

"Oh... So I take it you won't know where the library is then?" Harry asked her, disappointed.

"The library?" Kara repeated with a small laugh. "Is_ that_ what you're here for?"

"Yeah... Why?" Harry said, blinking in confusion. "Is that weird?"

Kara made a mental note to introduce her to Juni. She seemed like the sort of shy bookworm type who would easily get along with her quietest friend.

"No, it's not weird," Kara assured her. "It's just... Well... I guess I thought you'd be here to_ see _someone."

"Like who?" Harry wondered. "You mean my dad?"

"Are you serious? You're really not here to see any of the guys?" Kara tried not to laugh, but she couldn't help herself. Any other girl would have already raced off in search of their favorite guy from the Night Class. Not this girl. It was a refreshing change, but she was still new. In a few months' time, she'd probably be no better than the majority of the other girls in the Day Class – obsessively stalking whichever guy managed to catch her fancy.

"Well I don't really know anyone in the Night Class," Harry replied, and the completely lost look on her face made Kara feel sorry for having laughed at her. She cleared her throat a bit, bringing her laughter back under control, and offered the other girl a friendly smile.

"I'm so sorry, that was really rude of me," she apologized. "I didn't mean to laugh, it's just... Well, most girls try to get in here just to see the Night Class boys. I take it you haven't seen them around, yet?"

"Yeah, I've seen a couple of them already," Harry replied, still looking confused.

"And you don't have a favorite already?" she asked, in return, starting to also feel a bit confused. Either this girl was even more of a bookish go-getter than Juni, or perhaps she preferred the fairer sex like Megumi. Or maybe she just hadn't met the right member of the Night Class to properly draw her attention.

"Um, should I?" Harry wondered, fidgeting a bit. "I don't really know any of them yet."

_Oh, you will... Trust me_, Kara thought, another laugh escaping her.

"You're really something else!" she told her, shaking her head in wonder at the girl's innocent cluelessness. "So you honestly just want to see the library?"

"Honestly," Harry replied with a single nod of her head.

"In that case I'll help you find it!" Kara offered, figuring she could just as easily swipe something from the library and simply claim it had come from Aidou's room. Her friends would never know the difference.

"Oh, that's okay. You don't have to," Harry protested.

"No, I insist!" Kara told her, gently grasping her arm and leading her along toward the nearest set of stairs. "Come on, let's try up this way."

They went up the stairs, and Kara could hear her heartbeat reverberating in her ears. They were actually _in_ the Night Class' dorm. Any second, one of them could step out in front of them and they'd be caught... and then what? Would they simply be asked to leave? Be taken to the headmaster's office for proper punishment according to the school's rules? Or would the Night Class students take the punishment into their own hands, instead?

"I don't think this is it," Harry commented, and Kara stopped mid-stride and finally took a good look around. They were now standing on a hallway lined on either side with identical doors doors and what appeared to be candelabras on the walls. The carpet was thick and luxurious, and Kara could only imagine how soft it would feel under her bare feet.

"I think you're right..." she said after a moment, suddenly realizing that they had wandered right up to the rooms where the Night Class students slept. Behind one of those doors was the room of the one person in the world whose eyes always captivated her to the point she couldn't speak whenever she saw him. Even just thinking about him was making her start to feel a bit frozen in place.

"Let's go back down and try the other stairs," Harry suggested. "We'll probably just get lost up here."

"Yeah... Okay..."

Kara allowed Harry to take the lead and followed her back to the top of the stairs. They had just started their decent when she heard the distinct sound of a door opening behind them, followed by an all-too-familiar voice.

"I _thought_ I heard someone out here! But I didn't expect to find two lovely girls waiting for me!"

Kara drew in a sharp breath and turned around to face him, remembering how Shiori had told her she needed to face her fears in order to get over them. It wasn't that he frightened her, though – it was more like she felt intimidated by him. He was good-looking, and he knew it. Better than half the girls in the Day Class vied for his attention on a daily basis, many of them much prettier than she was. Still, she hadn't forgotten about that first day she'd seen him. It was silly to think that smile had been just for her, knowing the sort of person he was, but she still couldn't help holding onto that hope that he might one day notice her again.

Aidou was already dressed for bed, and his pale blue pajamas only served to further accentuate the color of his eyes. His blonde hair was messier than usual, especially on one side, but even in its current state Kara's fingers itched to be run through those soft tresses.

She only half heard Harry's apology for their intrusion, her focus fixed only upon him. She wanted to voice her own apology to him, but she couldn't form the words. She couldn't even _move_. He smiled at them, waving the apology off, and she felt like her head was spinning. Her blood was rushing in her ears, and she was fully aware that her face had likely turned as red as Shiori's hair. And when Aidou walked up to her and put his arm around her shoulders... she thought she might die right then and there.

"Don't be silly," she heard him saying to Harry in response to some sort of comment she had made about a nurse. "There's no cure for _love_!"

The way he said that one word nearly sent her swooning to the floor. She tried to focus once more on her surroundings, on the conversation taking place right in front of her, but she couldn't stop staring at him. The next thing she knew, she was being led in the direction of the room he had come out of.

This was it. She was about to be in the room of the boy she'd had a crush on since her first day at Cross Academy. She needed to pull herself together so she didn't forget to grab something of his to take with her before she left, but just knowing that he was going to be in the room _with_ her was making it hard to_ breathe_, let alone plot what was technically a robbery.

"Hanabusa, what are you doing?"

Another male voice called from the other end of the hallway and Kara managed to turn her gaze from Aidou to find Ichijou watching them with his arms folded over his chest. The next thing she knew, she was being pulled away from Aidou by Harry. Once she was out from under his arm, her head began to clear.

"It's okay, I can go to the, um... nurse by myself," she said once she found her voice, guessing that they had been previously discussing taking her there. She was desperate to get out of there as soon as possible, before whatever spell it was Aidou had over her took effect once again.

"You came here to check out the _library_, remember?" she reminded Harry.

"Oh... Yeah, right," Harry said, apparently having actually forgotten her original reason for being there.

Harry and Ichijou exchanged a few words with one another regarding the library, but Kara didn't really pay attention to what was being said. She was painfully aware of Aidou's gaze still lingering upon her, and had to force herself not to look up into his eyes. Instead, she pretended to check in her bag for something.

"Look, uh... I'll catch you later, Harry," she told the other girl once she finally felt like she would be able to get out of there without losing her footing and tumbling down the stairs. Without waiting for a response from any of them, she quickly took off, pausing only for a second to swipe the first nick-nack she came to from a small table in the foyer. After all, she still needed something to prove she'd been there.

She had no idea that Aidou's eyes were still upon her, even as the front door closed behind her, the wheels in his head already turning.


	3. The Butterfly and the Rose

**Chapter Three: The Butterfly and the Rose**

Kara held her head in her hands, her fingers locked in her hair, and simply stared at the object sitting before her on the table. The figurine was made of what was either solid white gold or platinum, and was encrusted with several jewels – jewels which she was sure were _real_ and not simply colored rhinestones.

"Let's sell it!" Meg suggested, reaching over and picking up the small statue from where it was sitting. Kara quickly grasped her wrist and gently pried her fingers off the figurine, then placed it back in its previous spot on the table in front of her.

"I am_ so dead_," she lamented, her wide green eyes turning to stare at the object she'd stolen from the Moon Dorm that morning. She'd meant to only grab a paperweight or a pen, but she'd been in such a rush to get out of there that she had somehow managed to grab a _very_ expensive little statue of a butterfly sitting on a rose from the table in the building's main foyer.

"You could always break in again and return it," Shiori suggested, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"I am _never_ setting foot in that place again," Kara dismissed the idea with a shake of her head. "I made a complete fool of myself in front of Aidou, Shiori! As soon as I saw him I froze, just like I always do. I couldn't talk, couldn't move... I could barely _breathe_."

"I really don't know what you see in him," Meg commented, making a disgusted face and crossing her arms over her chest as she slouched in her chair.

"That's because he has a penis," Rin said, then immediately clapped a hand over her mouth and blushed.

"I think what Rin means, Meg," Danielle clarified, giggling at Rin's comment, "is that you _can't_ appreciate how wonderful Aidou is because you like girls."

"So what is it_ you _see in him, cutie?" Megumi asked, giving her a wink and leaning closer to her over the table. Danielle giggled again, flattered by the other girl's attention, and the librarian shushed them for the noise. Meg made a face at the woman and flipped her off as soon as her back was turned, then looked to Danielle once more. "Well?"

"Well... He's cute!"

Meg rolled her blue eyes. "Typical girl answer. _What_ is it about him that you find cute?"

"His eyes," Kara mused without thinking, a wistful sigh following the statement. "He has such beautiful, clear blue eyes. They're like... these endless, deep pools that I could just drown myself in forever."

She thought about how those eyes had captivated her time and time again. Not even the sleepy look in them had been able to keep her from being drawn in when she saw him at the Moon Dorm. In fact, they had drawn her in even more than usual. She had never known what the term 'bedroom eyes' really meant until that morning.

"I like his smile," Danielle piped up, breaking Kara's reverie.

"He does have a nice smile," Meg agreed. "Too bad that he uses it to charm _every_ female in this school, including the teachers."

"Not even that smile is going to save me when they figure out I stole this thing," Kara complained, picking up the figurine and frowning at it. "_Why_ did I let you guys talk me into that stupid dare?"

"Kara?"

She looked up at the sound of her name being called and saw Harry walking over to the table they were sitting a toward the back of the library, waving and smiling. Kara quickly shoved the figurine toward Shiori, who hid it under the top flap of her school bag, and put on a friendly smile just as the other girl reached them.

"Hey, Harry! How nice to see you again!" she greeted her hoping she didn't notice how forced her smile was. It wasn't that she didn't like the girl... she just seemed to have the _worst_ possible timing.

"You, too," Harry said, then turned to the other girls at the table. "Hi, I'm Tamashi Harima, but everyone calls me Harry."

"Harima – as in, Mr. Harima?" Juni asked, finally looking up from the book she had been diligently studying since they first sat down.

"He's her father," Kara answered for her. "Harry, these are my friends: Danielle Rothson, Rin Takeda, Megumi Nakano – who prefers to be called Meg, Juni Hashimoto, and Shiori Itou."

"Who has been her best friend for the past ten years," Shiori added once she'd finished with the round on introductions, hugging Kara from behind.

"It's nice to meet you all," Harry greeted them with a nervous wave.

"My, my," Meg said, standing from her seat and stalking around the table like a stealthy cat moving in on its prey. Juni let out an annoyed sigh and shook her head, returning her attention to her book, while the rest of the girls shared a knowing look and did everything in their power to hide their smiles. They knew that tone of voice and that posture well. It was a game Meg liked to play with any girl she met who didn't know about her orientation.

"You have _such_ pretty eyes," Meg told Harry once she was standing before her.

"Thank you," Harry replied, blushing at the compliment.

Meg leaned in _very_ close to the other girl, to the point where their lips were only an inch or two apart, still staring intently into her eyes. Harry blinked nervously, trying not to fidget under the taller girl's critical gaze.

"Gorgeous," Meg finally said in a quiet whisper, giving her a wink before pulling away and returning to her seat at the table. She cast a glance over her shoulder at Harry and smirked at the expression of utter confusion on the blonde's face before sitting down.

"I um... I wanted to make sure you were feeling okay," Harry told Kara, placing a concerned hand on her shoulder. "You seemed pretty out of it this morning."

"_Oh_?" Shiori said, leaning around Kara to look at her accusingly. "What's this, now? Did you have _help_ breaking into the Moon Dorm, Kara?"

Kara smiled sheepishly at Harry and whipped her head around to her roommate.

"Can we discuss this later, please?" she asked quietly. "I wasn't exactly forthcoming with her about my reasons for being there."

"Hmm... but I want to discuss it now," came a new voice.

Kara turned her head and looked past Harry to see Aidou casually walking over to their table, his hands in the pockets of the pristine white pants of his uniform.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready to greet your many admirers, pretty boy?" Meg asked, dismissing him with a wave of her hand.

"I had some business with Miss Tsukiyama that I needed to attend to before class," Aidou told her, turning his gaze upon the girl in question.

Kara felt trapped and beyond confused. The fact that he'd heard what she said to Shiori from halfway across the library was inconceivable – yet another little tidbit to add to her growing list of things she had noticed about the Night Class students over the past year which pointed to her theory being correct. And, somehow, he had also learned her name. As far as she knew, he never asked girls their names in favor of just giving them a wink and a smile and leaving them passed out on the ground in his wake. The fact that he not only took the time and made the effort to find out her name but actually track her down... Perhaps it meant nothing, but it certainly made her feel a bit more special.

"So, where is it?"

Kara tried to force herself not to meet his eyes, but his voice was like a magnet and her gaze traveled up from the middle of his chest to those pouty lips until finally she met his gaze. She had been expecting to see anger or disapproval there, but instead his blue eyes were full of amusement. He was clearly enjoying himself at her expense.

"Wh-where is... what?" she managed to ask in a whisper, proud of herself for finally getting out some words with him in her presence.

Aidou knelt down at the head of the table and rested his arms on top of it, propping his head in one hand as he continued to smile at her.

"You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about, Kara-chan," he replied in a sultry voice, and Kara ended up finally breaking the eye contact between them to stare at her hands in her lap as she blushed. "You took one of Kaname-sama's favorite _objet d'art _from the table in the foyer. I saw you do it."

"Oh, and he speaks French!" Danielle squeaked, clapping excitedly. Aidou turned his head slightly and winked at her before looking to Kara once more.

"Well," he prompted, reaching out and placing a hand under Kara's chin in order to turn her face back up so he could look her in the eyes again. "I won't ask again. Where is it?"

Kara mutely pointed to the place where Shiori had hidden the figurine under her bag, and Aidou slid his arm across the table in front of her and flipped the top flap of the bag nonchalantly out of the way to reveal the stolen treasure.

"Such a naughty girl, Kara-chan," Aidou reprimanded her, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he grasped the jeweled statue and stood back up to his full height. "Now, I promise not to tell anyone about your sticky little fingers, but you had best stay out of further trouble."

He leaned down close to her, placing his head next to hers, and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his breath blowing against her neck.

"Though I can certainly appreciate a girl who is just the right amount of naughty and nice," he whispered into her ear, drawing a soft gasp from her.

Aidou chuckled and straightened his posture, then bowed regally to the rest of the girls present.

"_Enchanté_, ladies."

Kara watched him leave, her heart racing and her face burning. There had been something decidedly... sexual in what he'd said to her, though whether or not she was meant to take it that way, she had no idea. Considering who the words had come from, however, she figure he probably_ did_ mean for her to take it like that but he likely wasn't being sincere. There was a very good chance he was merely teasing her because of her obvious attraction toward him and, like an idiot, she'd fallen right into his little trap.

"Does anyone else _really_ want to know what he just said to her?" Meg asked.

"I don't," Juni grumbled. "I came here to study, remember? Like the rest of you _said_ you were going to?"

Meg waved her off and scooted her chair closer to Kara's position, bumping into Rin's chair in the process.

"Come on, what did he say? It must have been good, because you looked like you were practically on the verge of an orgasm when he said it."

"Meg!" Rin gaped at her, gesturing toward Harry, who was still standing at their table and had turned the same shade of red as Kara following her question.

Shiori cleared her throat and quickly began speaking before Meg could say anything else to scandalize the new girl. "Kara, I must say how proud I am of you. You actually _talked_ to him, this time!"

"I barely said a single sentence to him," Kara pointed out.

"It's worlds better than this morning, though," Harry remarked. "She looked like she was about to pass out or have some sort of seizure or something."

"That's normal," all five of the other girls stated simultaneously, including Juni – who hadn't even appeared to be following the conversation.

"Kara's been obsessed with Aidou since she first saw him," Rin said.

"I'm not _obsessed_!" Kara argued. "Since when does finding someone attractive equate to being obsessed with them?"

"Maybe you're not obsessed," Danielle amended, "but you're definitely in over your head way more than you like to think."

"At least I don't practice writing my name as Mrs. Danielle Aidou, unlike _someone_," Kara shot back at the blonde, and Danielle slid part-way under the table in embarrassment.

"Bitches, stop fighting!" Meg yelled at them, getting herself shushed again by the librarian. "Shut up, you old hag! We're trying to have a conversation here."

All seven girls burst out laughing, and the librarian ended up throwing them out for causing a disruption despite the fact that they were the only people there. Meg loudly complained the entire way.

* * *

Aidou listened carefully as he walked away from the group of girls, closing his eyes and concentrating on the sound of Kara's heart rapidly hammering in her chest. He'd been close enough to smell her blood rushing just beneath her skin, and if it hadn't been for the others present he might have been tempted to try a taste.

He couldn't deny that he was intrigued by the girl. Most of his other admirers did everything in their power to get close to him, while she seemed to want to do everything in hers to stay away in spite of her attraction. It was a strange paradox, and he – being a scholar – felt a need to delve into things a bit further. If nothing else, it would provide a pleasantly entertaining diversion and help stave off his usual boredom.

"What are you up to, Hanabusa?"

He stopped just outside the library and looked at the object in his hand with a sigh, ignoring the presence of his cousin waiting for him by the door. He had lied about the figurine Kara had stolen being one of Kaname's favorites. In truth, it was actually one of _his_ favorites – the butterfly and the rose – one that he found strangely symbolic, in a way. He'd wanted to let her keep her little prize, but knew he had to get it back or else other students might catch wind of what she'd gotten away with and then they would have numerous others sneaking into the Moon Dorms and putting their secret at risk of being discovered. Still, he thought that maybe one day he could give it back to her as a gift.

"Well?" Kain prompted, still waiting for an answer, but he had none to offer.

What_ was_ he up to, indeed.


End file.
